Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Red Squirrels

A population of red squirrels is clinging on in the woodland surrounding Wallington Hall, a National Trust property in mid-Northumberland. If you are lucky, you can see them almost anywhere in the woodland but the best views are from the observation hide in the West Woods. Here they come to glean the sunflower seeds and peanuts dropped by birds visiting the feeders.

Today, there are only three seed feeders at the observation hide; the bird table and all the other feeders, including some very large peanut feeders fastened to the trees, have been removed. Recent thinking suggests that if feeders are used by both red and grey squirrels they can be responsible for spreading the squirrel-pox virus which is fatal to the reds.

The two red squirrels I watched on Sunday were finding easy pickings amongst the wasted bird food under one of the feeders. My friend Harold took this beautiful picture of one of the reds sitting amongst the grass to the side of the feeders, and I would like to thank him for sharing it here ...

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Red squirrels survive in woodlands throughout Northumberland. You can read more about their protection here.

Great shot. I hoping to see some of these when we go and stop with friends in the Isle Of Wight. Bye the way I really love Northumberland, we had a great familly holiday in Alnmouth a couple of years back.

Welcome ...

... and thank you for visiting my blog, describing my wildlife wanderings in Northumberland and elsewhere. I do hope you will find my observations interesting.

Living in retirement in Redesdale, Northumberland, in the midst of England's wild and remote border country with Scotland, I find much in the beautiful countryside surrounding my home to interest me. The greater part of my observations will be about natural history but if the landscape, history or traditions of a place I visit inspires, I might well write about it too.